[climber008]

While I am not considering breeding at the moment, I hope to evenutally breed strong, healthy hamsters! Now I know this is a HUGE topic, but could someone help me out a bit?

I know practically nothing about the true steps and secrets behind safely breeding hamsters.

For instance:

Genetics? I know that certain hammies when bred together will create sickly, weak, or even eyeless hammies. But what hammies with whom will produce this?

And how do you even begin to sort out the different colors and patterns?


Also:

How would you care for the mum ham up until birth and after. Like what foods, etc?

I know you should remove any toys or things that could injure pups or mum, but I'm not sure about anything beyond that.


The only reason why I would consider breeding is:

1. There are no more active hamster breeders near where I live. (Unless they are hiding and don't have a website.)

2. There are rarely any outlets for adopting, so it is always hard to find an adoptable ham.

3. I'm not against buying from the pet store (or adopting the rare ham that pops up), but the hammies in the pet stores are normaly so frightened and not always have the healthiest bloodlines. (Their bodies are thinner, tails are much longer than normal, etc..)



Thanks for any help that you can provide me! I just want to be extremely knowledgeable before I even THINK of breeding! I would never want to risk my ham due to a foolish lack of information.

~climber008